February 2023

The Eleventh Gate by Nancy Kress

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The novel “The Eleventh Gate” by Nancy Kress was published for the first time in 2020.

The Eight Worlds were colonized thanks to the portals that enable interstellar travel. Everyone knows the story of the devastation of the Earth yet the situation is tense between two of the human factions, the libertarian Freedom Enterprises and the state-company Peregoy Corporation.

When a scout reports the discovery of the eleventh portal, the situation becomes complicated. A Peregoy Corporation starship sends a scout to the planet near the Eleventh Relay but a bomb kills all of its members. The last message blames the Landry family, owners of Freedom Enterprises. War seems inevitable but Philip Anderson, a scientist with unorthodox ideas, is exploring the nature of the portals and his discoveries could affect the future of humanity.

Curse of the Mirror Clowns by Chris Lynch

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The novel “Curse of the Mirror Clowns” by Chris Lynch was published for the first time in 2018.

Lucy Wilson is getting used to living in a small village like Ogmore-by-Sea but even in an apparently remote place, there seem to be strange events. Lucy took inspiration more than ever from her grandfather Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart by taking on the role of Defender of the Earth alongside her friend Hobo.

When a circus puts on a special show for one night only, Lucy doesn’t seem interested but soon the clowns show sinister and alien characteristics. Help comes from another alien, and it’s important because the clowns are looking for her.

The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson

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The novel “The Chronoliths” by Robert Charles Wilson was published for the first time in 2001. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

Scott Warden remained in Thailand with his wife and daughter after finishing a job as a software developer. He spends a lot of time with Hitch Paley, another American who does illegal jobs, especially as a smuggler. The two men are among the first to see a kind of monolith that has appeared in the jungle under very strange circumstances. The object bears an inscription commemorating a military victory by a mysterious Kuin twenty years in the future.

An infection contracted by Kaitlin, Scott Warden’s daughter, is the main cause of the divorce between him and his wife. The experience with the monolith leads Scott to meet Sue Chopra, a scientist who was his teacher during his college years and is studying the monoliths that started appearing one after another around the world. No one knows who the mysterious Kuin is, yet more and more political and social movements claim to be inspired by him, upsetting the political landscape of various nations.

Dead Lies Dreaming by Charles Stross

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The novel “Dead Lies Dreaming” by Charles Stross was published for the first time in 2020. It’s part of the Laundry series and within it is the first book of the Tales of the New Management.

Rupert de Montfort Bigge is a billionaire who has adapted well to the New Management. An opportunity comes for him when he learns that the Necronomicon is being auctioned off in an underground auction. It’s perhaps the only existing copy of the real legendary Necronomicon. Eve Starkey is his special agent whose goal is to get it, at all costs.

Getting your hands on a book as unique and dangerous as the Necronomicon is difficult, yet there are various people ready for anything with many resources at their disposal. Eve hires her brother Jeremy “Imp” and his group of Lost Boys to help her with their powers but their paths cross with that of Wendy Deere adding complications together with the discreet but constant presence of the Bond.